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THE EPTA GUIDE TO ECODESIGN AND ENERGY LABELLING

THE EPTA GUIDE TO ECODESIGN AND ENERGY LABELLING

On 1 March 2021, the Ecodesign (2019/2024) and Energy Labelling (2019/2018) Regulations came into force for all products entered by the European Commission into Lot 12: commercial refrigeration equipment to display and sell fresh and frozen products in the sector of Large-scale retail, Ho.Re.Ca. and Food&Beverage.

Ecodesign and Energy Labelling are two twin regulations that work together to achieve the same goal, according to a push-pull logic. Ecodesign, in fact, sets the minimum efficiency requirements for the products that will be put on the market. It will act as a “filter” that will help to eliminate the less sustainable solutions. Energy Labelling provides the introduction of a sticker that shows annual consumption, the energy class of each chilled cabinet and further information useful to the Retailers and to the specifiers of the Ho.Re.Ca. sector to make an informed choice. Consequently, both regulations are indirectly intended to promote innovation and competitiveness among manufacturers to reduce the consumption and environmental impact of refrigerated equipment, increasing the performance of the solutions” declares Francesco Mastrapasqua, Institutional Affairs Manager of Epta.

Thanks to Energy Labelling and to the Database of the European Commission EPREL, the EU Product Database for Energy Labelling, Customers can compare apparently identical equipment with different levels of performance to make the best choice. In the initial scenario, it is envisaged that classes A and B are empty, due to the low levels of consumption set, to steer the market towards the steady increase in the average efficiency of the systems. Therefore, it is important to clarify that, unlike other categories where the energy labelling has been in force for several years, to purchase a chilled cabinet in class C in 2021 will mean having chosen a best-in-class product.

To offer its Customers an effective tool to implement the new regulations correctly, Epta has taken part in the workgroup that has drafted the “Guide to the Interpretation of the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations” by Eurovent. This document provides a set of rules and instructions that fill the gap between the obligations and the requirements of the regulations and the numerous variations of chilled cabinets available.

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